JP5157981B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus including an airbag and having a discharge port for discharging gas supplied into the airbag.

  Various airbag devices have been proposed that protect the side of an occupant during a vehicle-side collision. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a side airbag that is attached to a side portion on the side body side of a vehicle in a seat back of a seat seat and has a discharge port that discharges a predetermined amount of gas supplied into the airbag. An apparatus is described.

  By the way, when the side body of the vehicle receives an impact from the side, an occupant who sits on the seat seat on the side separated from the side body subjected to the impact among seat seats arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction, that is, the vehicle There is a case where an occupant seated on the opposite side (far side) to the part that receives an impact through the central part moves toward the inside of the vehicle so as to approach the side body side that received the impact. For example, there is a case where an occupant seated in a passenger seat approaches the side body on the driver's seat side when there is a collision with the side body on the driver's seat side. And if a passenger | crew moves to the vehicle inner side in this way, there exists a possibility of colliding with the next passenger | crew. Therefore, conventionally, as an airbag device for protecting an occupant seated on the far side when such a situation occurs, an airbag is installed between the occupants seated on a pair of seat seats arranged in the vehicle width direction. There has been proposed a far-side airbag device for inflating and deploying a bag.

Republished patent WO2002 / 100690

  By the way, also in such a far-side airbag device, it is necessary to form a discharge port for discharging the gas in the airbag to the outside, similarly to the side airbag device described in Patent Document 1. Here, since the gas discharged from the discharge port is high-temperature and high-pressure, it is desirable to avoid a situation where it is blown directly to the passenger. In this respect, in the side airbag device described in Patent Document 1, the discharge port is formed on the side portion on the side opposite to the occupant in the inflated and deployed airbag, that is, the side portion on the side body side. Therefore, the gas discharged from the discharge port is not blown to the passenger. However, in the airbag device for the far side, since the airbag is inflated between the occupants, a discharge port is formed in the side portion of the inflated and deployed airbag as in the side airbag device described in the conventional literature 1. Even so, gas will be blown from either of the passengers through the outlet.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object thereof is to be discharged from the discharge port in a state where the airbag is inflated and deployed between a plurality of seats arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction. It is in providing the airbag apparatus which can suppress that a gas is sprayed on a passenger | crew.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the invention according to claim 1 is an airbag that can be inflated and deployed between a plurality of seats arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction, and gas is supplied to the inside of the airbag. And an inflator configured to form an exhaust port for discharging the gas supplied to the inside of the airbag with respect to the airbag, wherein the airbag is seated on the seat seat The airbag is inflated and deployed rearward of the occupant in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the airbag is formed with an insertion port into which the gas outlet of the inflator is inserted, and the airbag is inflated and deployed. The lower part of the airbag in the state is an upstream part into which the gas supplied from the inflator preferentially flows, and the air bag is in an inflated and deployed state. The top of the bag and downstream portion, the outlet is formed in the upper, in a state in which the airbag is inflated and deployed, it is open towards the rear as well as positioned rearward than the occupant In the airbag, a rectifying cloth that rectifies the gas supplied from the inflator toward the lower side is provided so as to overlap the insertion port, and the rectifying cloth is provided at a lower end side of the airbag. And the opening is closed in the folded state of the airbag, and the airbag is inflated and deployed to the lower part of the airbag through the opening. The gist is that gas is preferentially guided .

  In the present invention, in a state in which the airbag is inflated and deployed, the discharge port is located on the rear side of the occupant and opens toward the rear side. Accordingly, the exhaust port discharges gas toward the side opposite to the occupant side in a state where the airbag is inflated and deployed, and the gas discharged from the exhaust port is a direction away from the occupant in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. To go to. As a result, in a state where the airbag is inflated and deployed, it is possible to suppress the gas discharged from the discharge port from being blown to the occupant.

  After the airbag has been inflated and deployed, as described above, the exhaust port is located on the rear side of the occupant and opens toward the rear side, so that the gas discharged from the exhaust port is directed to the occupant. It becomes suppressed that it is sprayed. However, when the airbag is in the middle of inflating and deploying, the position of the discharge port and the direction of the opening may be different from time to time. There are concerns that arise.

  In this regard, in the above invention, most of the gas supplied from the inflator is directed to the lower side of the airbag, so that the amount of gas discharged from the discharge port is reduced during the inflation and deployment of the airbag. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the gas from the discharge port from being blown to the occupant not only after the airbag is inflated and deployed, but also in the middle of the airbag.

Furthermore , by rectifying the gas flow with the rectifying cloth, most of the supplied gas can be directed to the lower side of the airbag regardless of the gas supply position of the inflator in the airbag. Therefore, it can suppress more that gas is discharged | emitted from an exhaust port in the middle of the expansion | deployment deployment of an airbag.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, in the inflated and deployed state, the upper end portion of the airbag is in contact with the roof of the vehicle, while the lower end portion is a seat of the seat. The gist is to contact the vehicle interior structure disposed between the two parts.

  In this invention, movement of the airbag in the vehicle width direction is restricted by the airbag being sandwiched between the vehicle interior structure and the roof of the vehicle. Therefore, the airbag can reliably apply a reaction force to an occupant who falls inward in the vehicle width direction at the time of a side collision.

  In addition, when the airbag is inflated and deployed, even if the airbag is sandwiched between the roof and the vehicle interior structure, the discharge port is located on the rear side of the occupant and opens toward the rear side. The discharge port is not blocked by the roof or the vehicle interior structure. Therefore, gas can be smoothly discharged from the discharge port.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can suppress that the gas discharged | emitted from the discharge port is sprayed on a passenger | crew in the state which the airbag was inflate-deployed between the several seats arrange | positioned along with the vehicle width direction.

The cross-sectional view which shows a vehicle. The partial sectional side view which shows a vehicle. The top view which shows the airbag of the state which expand | deployed. (A) is the AA partial fragmentary sectional view of FIG. 3, (b) is the BB partial sectional view of FIG. The bird's-eye view which looked down at the airbag of the state which expanded and expanded the vehicle interior from upper direction. The partial sectional side view which shows a vehicle in the state which the airbag was inflate-deployed. Sectional drawing which is the state which the airbag expanded and expanded and shows the state of a baffle cloth typically.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, when the direction is described, the forward direction of the vehicle is assumed to be the front, and the upper, lower, front, rear, left, and right are defined based on the forward direction. In the same manner, the airbag is also subject to the above-mentioned rules for each direction based on the inflated and deployed state.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the floor 12 of the vehicle 11 is provided with a pair of left and right seats 13 serving as seats arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction. The right seat 13 includes a seat 14 that supports the thigh from the buttocks of the occupant P, a reclining seat back 15, and a headrest 16 that supports the head Pa of the occupant P. The left seat 13 has the same configuration as the right seat 13.

  Further, on both the left and right sides of the vehicle 11, side bodies 17 constituting a part of the skeleton of the side portion of the vehicle 11 are erected substantially vertically with respect to the floor surface 12, and at the upper part of the vehicle 11. The roof 18 is provided substantially horizontally. A pillar 19 is erected on the upper end portion of the side body 17. The pillar 19 supports the roof 18.

  A center console 20 as a vehicle interior structure is provided between the pair of seating portions 13. The first structure portion 21 that is a part of the center console 20 extends in the front-rear direction along the inner surface of the seat portion 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface 21 a of the first structure portion 21 is higher than the seat surface 14 a of the seat portion 14. A second structure portion 22 extending in the vertical direction along the inner side surface of the seat back 15 is connected to the rear end of the first structure portion 21.

  The second structure portion 22 extends upward until the upper end portion 22 a reaches substantially the same height as the upper end 15 a of the seat back 15. A concave portion 22b that opens upward is formed in the upper end portion 22a of the second structure portion 22. The airbag device 23 is accommodated and assembled in the recess 22b.

  The airbag device 23 includes an inflator 24 that can supply a gas and an airbag 25 that is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied from the inflator 24. A gas generating agent (not shown) is accommodated in the inflator 24. When an operation signal is input from a control device (not shown), the inflator 24 ignites the gas generating agent to generate gas. The airbag 25 is folded during unexpanded deployment.

  FIG. 3 shows the airbag 25 in a deployed state. As shown in FIG. 3, in the airbag 25, one base fabric is folded in two at the central portion 25 a, and the side edges of the base fabric are joined by a joining portion 26 in this state. The connecting portion 26 of the airbag 25 extends along the periphery of the base fabric. As the base fabric of the airbag 25, a woven fabric formed using a material having high strength and flexibility and can be easily folded, for example, polyester yarn or polyamide yarn is suitable. An insertion hole 27 for inserting the gas ejection part 24a of the inflator 24 is formed in the upper part M1 of the airbag 25 so as to overlap the central part 25a of the base fabric. In addition, a rectifying cloth 28 is provided on the upper portion M <b> 1 of the airbag 25 so as to be positioned inside the airbag 25 and overlap the insertion hole 27. The rectifying cloth 28 is folded in two and then coupled by the coupling portion 29. The coupling portion 29 extends over substantially the entire longitudinal direction of the rectifying cloth 28. Therefore, the rectifying cloth 28 has a tube shape.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the rectifying cloth 28 has an insertion hole 28 a communicating with the insertion hole 27. And the baffle cloth 28 is couple | bonded with the airbag 25 by the connection part L formed so that the circumference | surroundings of the insertion hole 27 and the insertion hole 28a may be enclosed. In the rectifying cloth 28, the gas ejection part 24a of the inflator 24 (see FIG. 2) is disposed through the insertion hole 27 and the insertion hole 28a. In addition, a pair of vent holes 28b (only one is shown in FIG. 4A) are formed on the peripheral surface of the rectifying cloth 28 to communicate the inside of the airbag 25 and the inside of the rectifying cloth 28. As shown in FIG. 3, the first opening 28 c of the rectifying cloth 28 faces the lower end 25 b side of the airbag 25. The second opening 28d of the rectifying cloth 28 faces the upper end 25c side of the airbag 25. The opening area of the first opening 28c is set to be smaller than the opening area of the second opening 28d. And the rectification | straightening cloth 28 has the function to rectify | straighten so that the gas injected in the inside may go to the lower part M2 of the airbag 25. FIG. Therefore, the lower part M2 of the airbag 25 is an upstream side part into which the ejected gas flows preferentially. Further, a vent hole 30 for discharging the gas inside the airbag 25 is formed in a portion near the upper end portion 25c in the upper part M1 of the airbag 25.

  On the other hand, in the lower part M2 of the airbag 25, when the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, the tether 31 that regulates the amount of inflation in the width direction (the arrow Y direction shown in FIG. 4B) of the lower part M2 of the airbag 25. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 4B, the tether 31 is made of woven fabric and is provided so as to bridge the inner surface of the base fabric of the airbag 25 folded in half. The tether 31 is coupled to the inner surface of the base fabric of the airbag 25 by a coupling portion 33. The coupling portion 33 is formed in a vertically long elliptical shape in a side view (see FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the airbag 25 has a symmetrical shape with respect to the center in the vehicle width direction of the airbag 25 in the inflated and deployed state. The airbag 25 is sized to inflate and deploy in the front-rear direction from the region S1 on the front side of the chest Pb of the occupant P to the region S2 on the rear side of the occupant P. As shown in FIG. 6, the airbag 25 has its upper end portion 25c in contact with the lower surface 18a of the roof 18 and its lower end portion 25b in contact with the upper surface 21a of the first structure portion 21 in the inflated and deployed state. Movement in the vehicle width direction is restricted.

  Hereinafter, the vent hole 30 will be described on the assumption that the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed. The vent hole 30 is located behind the occupant P and in the same position as the seat back 15 in the front-rear direction. The vent hole 30 is located above the headrest 16 in the vertical direction. That is, the vent hole 30 is present at a position that does not overlap the occupant P when the airbag 25 is viewed from the vehicle width direction. Further, the vent hole 30 is opened obliquely upward on the rear side. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of vent holes 30 are provided symmetrically with respect to the center of the airbag 25 in the vehicle width direction. And when the airbag 25 is looked down on from the upper side of a vehicle interior as shown in FIG. 5, the left vent hole 30A is opened slightly toward the left side. Similarly, when the airbag 25 is looked down from above in the passenger compartment as shown in FIG. 5, the right vent hole 30B opens slightly to the right. That is, the pair of vent holes 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B each open in a direction intersecting the vehicle width direction, and discharge the gas inside the airbag 25 in a direction away from the passenger P in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

Next, the operation of the airbag device 23 in the present embodiment will be described.
When an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied to the side body 17 due to a side collision with the side body 17 of the vehicle, a control device (not shown) receives a detection signal from a sensor (not shown) and outputs an operation signal to the inflator 24. Then, based on this operation signal, the gas generating agent in the inflator 24 is ignited to generate high-temperature and high-pressure gas. Then, this gas is ejected into the rectifying cloth 28 by the gas ejection part 24 a of the inflator 24. Then, the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed.

  Here, a mode in which the rectifying cloth 28 rectifies the gas supplied from the inflator 24 will be described with reference to FIG. In order to facilitate understanding, in FIG. 7, the contact portions of the members are drawn with a small interval. When the gas is ejected from the gas ejection part 24a of the inflator 24, the rectifying cloth 28 is deformed into a state of being expanded by the gas pressure as shown in FIG. And if it deform | transforms in this way, the substantially whole 2nd opening 28d will be block | closed by the inner wall face etc. of the recessed part 22b, and the outflow amount from the 2nd opening 28d of the gas supplied from the inflator 24 will be very small. Further, when the airbag 25 is folded, the first opening 28c of the rectifying cloth 28 is in a closed state, and when the rectifying cloth 28 is inflated, the opening of the closed first opening 28c is delayed. Therefore, in the initial stage of inflation and deployment of the airbag 25, the amount of gas flowing out from the first opening 28c is small.

  During the inflation and deployment of the airbag 25, the gas ejected from the gas ejection portion 24 a of the inflator 24 is rectified by the rectifying cloth 28, most of which is below the airbag 25 through the first opening 28 c of the rectifying cloth 28. Only a part of the gas flows out from the vent hole 28b toward the M2 side. Here, since the position and the opening direction of the vent hole 30 are sometimes different during the stage where the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, there is a concern that a situation may occur in which gas is blown to the occupant P temporarily in some cases. There is. However, with respect to this point, during the inflation and deployment of the airbag 25, the rectifying cloth 28 guides the gas ejected from the gas ejection portion 24a of the inflator 24 toward the lower part M2 of the airbag 25. During the expansion / deployment, the amount of gas discharged from the vent hole 30 is reduced.

  While the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed between the occupants P, first, the lower end portion 25b contacts the second structure portion 22, and then the upper end portion 25c contacts the roof 18. The airbag 25 is inflated and deployed widely between the occupants P in a state where the inflation and deployment are completed. In this state, as shown in FIG. 6, the airbag 25 is supported by the upper surface 21 a of the first structure portion 21 and the lower surface 18 a of the roof 18. For this reason, since the movement of the airbag 25 in the vehicle width direction is restricted, even if the occupant P falls in the vehicle width direction when the vehicle 11 collides, the airbag 25 gives a reaction force to the occupant P. The passenger P can be protected.

  Further, in a state where the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, there is no vehicle structure such as the roof 18 or the center console 20 in the vicinity of the vent hole 30, and the discharge of gas from the vent hole 30 is hindered. Absent. In a state where the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, the pair of vent holes 30 are located on the rear side of the occupant P, and exhaust gas obliquely upward and rearward. Therefore, the pair of vent holes 30A and 30B each discharge gas to the side opposite to the occupant P side in the front-rear direction. As a result, the gas discharged from the vent holes 30A and 30B is directed in the direction of the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 5 and flows in a direction away from the occupant P in the front-rear direction. In the state where the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, if no pressure is applied to the airbag 25 from the outside, the amount of gas discharged from the vent holes 30A and 30B is small. In a state where the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, when the occupant P falls down and pressure is applied to the airbag 25, a predetermined amount of gas is discharged from the vent holes 30A and 30B.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the state in which the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, the vent hole 30 discharges gas to the side opposite to the occupant P side with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle. Therefore, the gas discharged from the vent hole 30 flows in a direction away from the occupant P with respect to the front-rear direction of the vehicle, so that the gas discharged from the vent hole 30 can be suppressed from being blown onto the occupant P.

  (2) Since most of the gas supplied from the inflator 24 is directed to the lower part M2 of the airbag 25 when the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, it is formed in the upper part M1 of the airbag 25 during the inflation and deployment of the airbag 25. The amount of gas discharged from the vent hole 30 is reduced. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the gas from being discharged from the vent hole 30 and being blown to the occupant P in the middle stage of the inflation and deployment of the airbag 25.

  (3) A rectifying cloth 28 is provided in the airbag 25, and the rectifying cloth 28 guides the gas ejected from the gas ejection portion 24a of the inflator 24 to the lower part M2 side of the airbag 25. Therefore, even if the gas ejection part 24 a of the inflator 24 ejects gas at the upper part M <b> 1 in the airbag 25, a large amount of gas can be directed to the lower part M <b> 2 of the airbag 25 by the rectifying cloth 28. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the discharge of gas from the vent hole 30 during the inflation and deployment of the airbag 25.

  (4) Since the airbag 25 is sandwiched between the first structure 21 and the roof 18 in the inflated and deployed state, movement of the airbag 25 in the vehicle width direction is suppressed. Therefore, the airbag 25 can apply a reaction force to the occupant P that falls in the vehicle width direction at the time of a side collision, and can protect the occupant P seated on the far side.

  (5) The vent hole 30 can discharge the gas in the airbag 25 even if the airbag 25 is sandwiched between the first structure 21 and the roof 18 in the inflated and deployed state. On the other hand, if the vent hole 30 is formed at a location that becomes the upper end portion 25c and the lower end portion 25b of the airbag 25 in an inflated and deployed state, the vent hole 30 is formed by the roof 18 or the first structure portion 21. It will be blocked. Therefore, the vent hole 30 that is located on the rear side of the occupant P and opens toward the rear side in a state where the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed can smoothly discharge the gas.

In addition, this Embodiment can also be implemented with the form shown below which changed this suitably.
-The direction in which the vent hole 30 opens may be changed. For example, in a state where the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, the vent hole 30 may be changed to open rearward and obliquely downward. Further, in a state where the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, the vent hole 30 may be changed so as to open rearward and in the horizontal direction.

  -You may change the position of the vent hole 30 in the state which the airbag 25 inflate-deployed. In the state in which the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, the vent hole 30 only needs to be located behind the occupant P in the front-rear direction and in a position covering the vent hole 30. For example, the headrest 16 in the vertical direction The vent hole 30 may be arranged at the same position.

  -You may change the shape of the baffle cloth 28. FIG. For example, instead of forming the straightening cloth 28 in a tube shape, the straightening cloth 28 may be formed in a flat shape. Then, by providing the flow rectifying cloth 28 on the extended line of the gas jetting portion 24a in the gas jetting direction, the flow straightening cloth 28 can function to guide the gas jetted from the gas jetting portion 24a to the lower part M2 of the airbag 25. You can do it. In addition, the shape of the rectifying cloth 28 is not limited to this, and may be appropriately changed according to the position of the vent hole 30 and the ejection direction from the gas ejection portion 24a of the inflator 24.

  The vehicle interior structure that contacts the lower end portion 25 b of the airbag 25 when the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed may not be the first structure portion 21 that is a part of the center console 20. For example, a protruding floor portion may be provided on the floor surface 12, and the protruding floor portion may be a vehicle interior structure.

  The shape of the airbag 25 in the inflated and deployed state is not particularly limited as long as it is a shape that can protect at least the head Pa of the occupant P. The shape in which the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed may be, for example, a shape in which the upper end portion 25 c of the airbag 25 does not contact the lower surface 18 a of the roof 18. Even in this case, if the airbag 25 is inflated and deployed, the occupant P can be protected during a side collision. Further, the shape of the airbag 25 in the inflated and deployed state may be a shape such that the lower end portion 25 b of the airbag 25 does not contact the upper surface 21 a of the first structure portion 21.

  -The arrangement | positioning position of the airbag apparatus 23 may be changed. For example, the airbag device 23 may be accommodated in the first structure portion 21. Even in this case, in the event of a side collision, if the airbag 25 that can be inflated and deployed is provided between the occupant P and the region S2 on the rear side of the occupant P, the occupant P can be protected. it can.

  The present invention is embodied as a far-side airbag device 23 that protects passengers seated in the driver seat and the passenger seat, instead of the far-side airbag device 23 in the pair of seating portions 13 of the vehicle 11. Also good.

  M1 ... Upper part, M2 ... Lower part, P ... Crew, 11 ... Vehicle, 13 ... Seating part as seat seat, 14 ... Seat part, 18 ... Roof, 20 ... Center console as vehicle interior structure, 23 ... Airbag device 24 ... Inflator, 25 ... Airbag, 25b ... Lower end, 25c ... Upper end, 28 ... Rectification cloth, 30, 30A, 30B ... Vent hole as outlet.

Claims (2)

An airbag that can be inflated and deployed between a plurality of seats arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction, and an inflator that supplies gas to the inside of the airbag, wherein the airbag is disposed inside the airbag. An airbag device in which a discharge port for discharging the supplied gas is formed,
The airbag is inflated and deployed between the occupant seated on the seat seat and on the rear side of the occupant in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle,
The airbag is formed with an insertion port into which the gas outlet of the inflator is inserted,
The lower part of the airbag when the airbag is inflated and deployed is an upstream part into which the gas supplied from the inflator preferentially flows, and the upper part of the airbag when the airbag is inflated and deployed. A downstream site,
The outlet is formed in the upper, said in a state where the airbag is inflated and deployed, it is open towards the rear as well as positioned rearward than the occupant,
In the airbag, a rectifying cloth that rectifies the gas supplied from the inflator so as to go to the lower side is provided so as to overlap the insertion port,
The rectifying cloth includes an opening that opens toward a lower end side of the airbag,
In the folded state of the airbag, the opening is in a closed state, and gas is preferentially guided to the lower portion of the airbag through the opening during the inflation and deployment of the airbag. A featured airbag device. In the airbag apparatus of Claim 1 ,
In the inflated and deployed state, the airbag has an upper end contacting the vehicle roof, and a lower end contacting the vehicle interior structure disposed between the seats of the seat. An airbag device.

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